I got used to the fact that Polish winter is extremely cold, but in houses, shops or restaurants it’s always very warm. Winter in Melbourne is very gracious and to be honest I do not miss snow at all. While I was walking I noticed signs on the doors along the street: “Come in! It’s warm inside”. It surprised me because it was obvious that since it is indoors it should be warm there, so why is this strange information on the door? I could not understand why these signs were hung up because “inside” is synonymous with “warmth”. I told it to my boyfriend who is Australian and he just laughed and said that to him it was so strange that in Europe he had to take off his jacket every time he went shopping because it was too hot for him. In Australia, shops and restaurants are usually not heated, so the places with heating inform people about it and encourage them to come in and warm up.

What is annoying for me is the norm for Australians. I do not like going to restaurants when I have to eat while I am wearing my coat, or going out shopping and dressing in a cold fitting room. I think Australians are annoyed when they need to take off their jackets upon entering the room. Sometimes it seems to me that people in Australia try to live in the belief that winter does not exist here, and even though it is actually quite mild, in my opinion the chill is still clearly noticeable, especially in Melbourne.